New Orleans Mayor C. Ray Nagin, who traveled on Friday to Shanghai, China, on an economic development trip, was informed early Sunday that a passenger on the airplane in which he was traveling was confirmed to have signs and symptoms of an influenza-like illness, suspected to be of the H1N1 -- or swine flu -- subtype.

As a precaution, Nagin, his wife and one member of the mayor's executive protection unit have been placed in a designated quarantine location in Shanghai. The mayor's agenda is on indefinite hold, though he and the others are symptom-free.

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"Right now, everything is stopped and we will follow the lead of Shanghai medical officials," spokeswoman Ceeon Quiett said at a City Hall news conference Sunday afternoon. "He seemed fine. Just following the procedure."

The passenger showing syptoms is undergoing both quarantine and treatment.

Nagin is being treated with the utmost courtesy by Chinese officials, the mayor's office said.

He was scheduled to travel to Sydney, Australia, to deliver a keynote address and lead a panel discussion on climate change at the 2009 National Summit of the United States Studies Centre at the University of Sydney.

As a result of the recent events, Nagin's travel schedule may be altered.

Nagin is in communication with his staff, though Quiett noted a significant time difference posed some challenges during initial conversations.

The mayor was notified of the situation sometime overnight, his office said.

"The officials from the airline and the U.S. embassy then contacted everyone who was sitting within a certain distance of that passenger," Quiett said. "Mayor Nagin his wife and members of his executive protection unit are all in quarantine. It is not the whole plane, just those who were sitting in close proximity of this passenger."

It was unclear how long the mayor will remain in quarantine. That is up to Chinese public health officials, but doctors in the U.S. usually monitor people for seven to 10 days.